sorafenib

Meaning of sorafenib: Sorafenib works through two separate mechanisms, directly slowing cancer cell growth while also limiting the blood supply a tumor depends on.

Definition of sorafenib

Sorafenib is an oral targeted cancer drug belonging to a class called kinase inhibitors, used to treat certain advanced cancers, including advanced kidney cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer, when the tumor cannot be removed surgically. It works by blocking several kinase enzymes involved both in signaling cancer cells to grow and in forming new blood vessels that a tumor needs to continue growing.

Because sorafenib interferes with new blood vessel formation, a process called angiogenesis, in addition to acting directly on cancer cell growth signals, it is described as having both a direct antitumor effect and an antiangiogenic effect, working through these two related mechanisms together.

Sorafenib is generally used when a tumor is advanced or cannot be surgically removed, and because it affects blood vessel formation and several kinase pathways active throughout the body, its use is accompanied by monitoring for effects such as high blood pressure and skin reactions on the hands and feet.